Pietersen back in Durban

The sensation of Pietersen continues tomorrow when he arrives back in Durban: to play for England. He’s become a sensation over night, both in terms of obvious talent but also his “obvious” background. I take my hat off to him for handling it all so well – you only have to read some of the comments that “YS” has made here regarding the Bok’s media reportage of him to get an idea of the frustration South Africans feel at a home-boy jumping ship.

His talent isn’t in question – but there will have been some doubters. His stats thus far in ODIs:

9 matches, 8 innings, 442 runs with a highest of 108* at 147.33 and a strike rate of 99.54. 2 100s and 2 fifties in just 8 innings is quite extraordinary.

Stats mean relatively little of course – but I can assure anyone who hasn’t yet seen him play; he’s got something about him. He’s primarily a leg-side player, and can easily whip wide-off-side balls through mid-wicket for 4. You’ve got to have a bloody good eye to even attempt that.

So he’s back in Durban tomorrow where his reception will likely be fairly hostile. Which is good news for all concerned – everyone likes a fighter, and hopefully all the fans will enjoy watching him bat